


Below 32

by flannelblues



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Autistic Spencer Reid, Gen, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26417695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flannelblues/pseuds/flannelblues
Summary: Reid and Morgan get lost in the snow.
Relationships: Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid
Comments: 5
Kudos: 115





	Below 32

“We’re lost, aren’t we?” Reid had never seen snow in person until he was seventeen, and even then it felt like a strange, magical tale told by those from the desert of cold that drops from the sky in solid form. But right now, leaning against one of many tall trees, watching Morgan desperately searching for service, he’d give anything to have his feet covered in the warm, dry Las Vegas sand. He wonders if the rest of the team has had any luck with catching the unsub. Maybe they found the guy hours ago and they’re already looking for him and Morgan.

It had stopped actually snowing about ten minutes ago, but their prints were already gone by the time they’d realised that they weren’t quite sure of where they were.

“Relax. We’ll find our way back soon.” Morgan isn’t looking back at him. It’s not that Reid doesn’t believe him, he’s just admittedly a bit annoyed at being stuck out here for any longer. There’s a peach glow reflecting off of the ice as the sun sets, which while Reid is still able to recognise as aesthetically pleasing, he’d still rather be at home, with a heater, and a blanket- and a coffee, thank you very much. He wraps his arms tighter around himself and shuts his eyes. They’ve spent at least four hours walking to where they are now, and it could take double that time to find their way back or for the rest of the team to come to them. 

“You warm enough, kid?” Reid opens his eyes back up again at Morgan’s voice. 

“Yeah, I’m good. You?” He’s not. Every inch of his skin feels like it’s just getting colder by the second. But Reid has more layers than Morgan, and he knows that if he says anything else he’s going to give him his jacket and actually freeze himself.

“Freezin’ my ass off.” Morgan’s still waving his cellphone around and Reid wonders if he’s about to try and climb a tree.

“We should try and find somewhere that they’ll be able to see us from in the air.” As much as he hopes it won’t come to that, it’ll only be harder for them to be found if they stay under the tall trees, even if they do offer some relief from the cold wind. 

-

The sun’s gone down fully now, and they’re relying on one flashlight. Reid doesn’t actually know how long the batteries have left, but he hopes that it’s got at least a few more hours left of light in it. He’s thankful that Morgan’s holding it, as if Reid was, the trembling in his hands would become all the more obvious. They’ve been walking in silence for a few minutes now, both too exhausted to really keep up any meaningful conversation, so Reid’s listening to the soft squashing sounds their shoes are making in the snow. And for just a second- he thinks he hears more footsteps than are normal for two people. 

“Morgan! Wait.” He whispers and watches Morgan stop after a second. The other footsteps (if there ever were any) stop too. Morgan’s dark eyes stare back at his own, and he thinks the man almost looks frightened too.“Sorry, ‘thought I heard something.” He tries his best to sound casual, even laughs a little, Morgan doesn’t need to be stressed if there’s really nothing to worry about. But even so, as they start trudging through the snow again, Morgan keeps a hand firm on his gun. 

It doesn’t help to soothe Reid’s nerves. Almost makes them worse in a way, a part of him would rather Morgan say that there’s no reason to worry or be scared, that, hey, we’re probably only ten minutes or so away from town, do you want to watch the game with me when we get back? Reid never really wants to watch the game. But he loves eating vending machine snacks on Morgan’s hotel room couch, feeling safe, knowing that the case is finished, that they’ve saved someone.

“Hey, Reid,” Morgan says, still looking ahead of them.

“Yeah?”

“You still afraid of the dark?” 

“Not really.” He lies through his teeth. Even now, with his best friend holding a flashlight, the dark encompassing everything outside of the tool’s electrical beam looks like it could be hiding anything.

“ _Really_?” Sarcasm lines his voice, and Reid’s glad that he’s at least in a playful mood. 

“Really!” He chuckles. But just as Morgan’s about to continue, a third voice enters, and Reid hears a clicking sound.

“Drop your guns.” The voice is gruff, late forties probably. Just like they profiled. “Both of you.”    
“Sir,” Reid tries to control the shake that’s trying so desperately to present itself in his voice. “We’re FBI, the rest of our team is close, and-” “Now!” The man says again, and Reid feels a hand on his neck. He complies, slowly pulling out his gun and dropping it into the snow, out of his view. Morgan does the same, staring at the unsub. Reid can’t see the man behind him, he’s trying not to panic, but the situation’s not looking good. 

He’s ripped from his thoughts when something hard and metal smacks him on the side of his skull. The hand is still holding him upright, and he can tell Morgan’s yelling something. But he can’t quite make it out, and he really wishes Morgan would stop shining the flashlight anywhere near his face. Then, he’s roughly dropped into the snow and it feels so harsh and just plain freezing on his cheek. The unsub’s holding him down now, and he hears Morgan yelling louder, and- another voice? Were there two unsubs? He can’t think straight, his head is pounding and he’s so _tired_. Can they all please just stop yelling at each other?

\- 

When Reid wakes up, he recognizes the feeling of being in the backseat of a car. After recalling what happened before he fell asleep, he panics and his eyes shoot open. Is he in the unsubs car? Where are they taking him? Where’s Morgan? His vision’s still blurry and he can make out two people in the front. The lights in the car are all off, _maybe he can just jump out the back-_

“Reid! Calm down! It’s just us man.” He looks to his left, Morgan? “Hotch and Rossi found us and shot the guy. It’s all good. You’re good.”

Reid finally feels himself relax at that. “What happened?” He mumbles and shuts his eyes again, his head still hurts. Instead of Morgan, like he expects, Hotch answers him. 

“Rossi and I were still searching for the unsub, but we hadn’t heard from either of you in a few hours. So we were worried. The unsub had you pinned and Morgan didn’t have his weapon. Rossi and I found you both before anything could happen.” Hotch doesn’t mention shooting anyone. “How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts, I guess.” An understatement, of course.

“We checked and you’re not concussed, so you can go back to sleep if you want.” He can hear the smile in Hotch’s voice, he doesn’t quite understand what’s funny. 

“No hospitals.”He mumbles in his toughest voice, but he listens, and drifts off within a few minutes. 

-

Hotch turns away from the dashboard and back to Morgan and Reid, the latter of which is in a deep sleep by now. He's a bit tired too. Rossi's driving, so falling asleep wouldn't be an issue, but he doesn't want to just yet.

“Are you feeling alright?” He’s well aware that their youngest team member being hurt can tend to cloud his judgment and cause him to overlook the others, but he still makes an effort to check in with Morgan right now.

“I’m fine. It’s him you should be worried about.”   
“He’s okay, Morgan. You know that.”

“I know, Hotch. It’s just-” Morgan huffs and turns away for a moment, before looking back at him. “I was scared, Hotch. It could’ve been bad.” Hotch knows that. And he knows that Reid’s already been through far too much for someone his age.

“It could’ve.” He sighs.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I've never actually been to the snow.
> 
> Also, this is just a little one-shot but I feel like it's just a bit too boring? Lemme know haha


End file.
